


The Sensei and the Seed

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Naruto
Genre: 9 Weeks of Summer, Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Iruka makes Kakashi crazy, KakaIru Fest, Kakashi loves him anyway, M/M, Prompt: Fairy Tale, Week 7, seals master Iruka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26065585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: When Iruka starts becoming a little eccentric Kakashi is puzzled, intrigued, and exasperated, in that order.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 4
Kudos: 143
Collections: Nine Weeks of Summer 2020





	The Sensei and the Seed

Umino Iruka was not a man known for eccentricity. If one were to ask his friends and colleagues for the ideal words to describe him they would get responses like steadfast. Settled. Reliable. The uncharitable might even say a little boring.

He had his routines and rarely deviated from them. He bought fruit and vegetables from the same grocer, ate ramen at Ichiraku’s every Wednesday evening, and sparred with Kotetsu or Izumo on Friday mornings before classes at the Academy. The only differences were when he was sent on a mission, picked up an extra shift at the mission desk, or was assigned a special task by the Hokage.

To Hatake Kakashi routine was the worst thing that a shinobi could be. Regular habits could be turned against you all too easily, and if it could be turned against an individual it could be turned against the village. He made every effort to be as unpredictable as possible; even varying which  _ Icha Icha _ title he carried with him was all a part of the process.

But as his friendship with Iruka had deepened, then grown into a romantic attachment, Kakashi had discovered one of the chuunin’s best kept secrets. Just like Kakashi’s indolence Iruka’s predictability was a carefully cultivated facade. He used it as a cover for the fact that he was far from the reformed prankster most of respectable Konoha believed him to be.

That was why when Kakashi first noticed the second futon piled on top of another at Iruka’s apartment he hadn’t thought much of it. His lover was forever tinkering with ideas for new pranks, often using his exceptional skill with seals, tags, and barriers in the process. Many of his ideas were never actually launched, and Kakashi figured the dual futons were just one more unfeasible plan. And since he left on a month-long mission shortly afterward he put it out of his mind.

He returned home four days earlier than expected, but injured, chakra exhausted, and unable to get to Iruka’s place until after a day in the hospital and two more resting up at home. When they did reunite he was distracted by other activities and failed to notice the composition of the soft surface they lay on until afterward. As he tried to catch his breath one hand flopped over the edge of the bed, and that was when Kakashi realized.

“Iruka?”

“Hmmm?” The response was sleepy as tanned fingers lazily stroked Kakashi’s stomach.

“Why do you have four futons stacked on the bed frame?”

Iruka sat up, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “Because every time I lay down to sleep I feel something poking me in the ribs and it's annoying as all hell.”

“And you thought buying more futons and stacking them together was a better idea than lifting one up and looking beneath it?”

“In my sleep-deprived state it seemed like the best choice,” Iruka declared with a sheepish smile. Then he reached out and laid a hand on Kakashi’s thigh, looking at his lover from beneath his lashes. “Want to deprive me of more sleep?”

The subject of bedding was forgotten for some time after that.

It was just over two weeks later when the issue came up again. Most of the intervening nights together had been spent at Kakashi’s place, and his super expensive, latex foam, pillow-top mattress (one of the few luxuries he allowed himself) seemed to cure whatever problems Iruka was having with sleep. Eventually, though, Kakashi was sent on another mission and Iruka returned to his own home for the duration. When the jounin returned home he was met with another surprise.

“Iruka, there are six futons stacked together now. Please tell me you didn’t buy two more.”

“Of course not!” was the indignant reply. “I did as you suggested and lifted up the old one to look for what kept poking me.”

“And. . .?”

“Well, I didn’t find anything underneath any of them so I took the one from the bottom of the pile and slashed it open with a kunai.”

Kakashi had to restrain himself from sighing too loudly. He really didn’t want the entire Mystery of the Poking Futon to escalate into a full-blown argument but Iruka’s “logic” wasn’t making it easy. “So there were four, you destroyed one, then bought three new ones to make the six I see now.” He looked between the top of the stack and Iruka, measuring the height of the former against that of the latter. “How do you even get into bed?”

Iruka looked at him like that was the most ridiculous question imaginable before chakra-walking up the wall and across the ceiling. Once he was in a precise position above the bedding he dropped down to exactly where he wanted to be, grinning when he landed with a tiny bounce. “Easy!” he exclaimed.

Despite his misgivings Kakashi was now strangely fascinated by how Iruka’s mind was working to solve all of the problems that stacking six futons together would inevitably have. “The pile didn’t budge when you flopped down,” he said, taking a closer look at the situation. “How do they all stay together?”

Iruka made a scoffing sound. “With seals, of course.” He hopped down, landing lightly on his feet. “I created a modified barrier that instead of forming a preset shape will mold itself to whatever it surrounds!” He ran one hand down the stack and Kakashi saw that instead of a straight line the motion did, indeed, follow the curves of each futon, curving inward at the small gaps on the edges. “And I even made the barrier permeable, so air can circulate and keep things from getting smelly.”

Against his will Kakashi was impressed. Seriously impressed. And, as often happened when confronted with Iruka’s intelligence and cleverness, more than a little turned on. So he reached out to wrap an arm around the other man’s waist and pulled him closer, using his free hand to tug down his mask. “You’re a mad genius, you know that?” he whispered once they were flush against each other.

Iruka’s mischievous smile was all the warning Kakashi had before his lover took hold and used chakra to toss him onto the pile of futons, jumping up to follow. “And you talk too much,” he growled before catching Kakashi’s lips in a searing kiss.

There were no more thoughts of the multiple futons after that.

In fact it was almost five months before the subject ever came up again. A member of the mission desk team was nearly killed while out in the field and was sidelined for three months while he recovered. Iruka took up a lot of the slack, working double shifts at the mission desk most days on top of his teaching. His exhaustion meant that he didn’t really care about where, or when, or how he slept. And when he finally got a break Kakashi was out of the village on back-to-back missions.

He returned from the last one unexpectedly early with only a few cuts and scratches. After a brief stop at his own home for a shower and clean clothes he ran across the rooftops to Iruka’s apartment, as delighted as a child at the prospect of surprising the other man. He slipped through the window above the sink and landed on the kitchen floor, careful to make no noise.

But the apartment was not silent. He could hear Iruka’s disgruntled voice and noises that were suggestive of some sort of fight. He drew a kunai from his holster and stealthily made his way to the bedroom, pausing at the door to listen to what was going on in the room. A cry of frustration from Iruka finally pushed him over the edge, and he abandoned secrecy in favor of speed, crashing through the door with a dramatic shout.

Only to find Iruka alone, sitting on the floor surrounded by chunks of white, fibrous fluff, and staring at him in amazement. The appearance of the rest of the room registered in Kakashi’s brain in the split second he had before Iruka leapt to his feet, shouted an ecstatic “You’re home!” and threw his arms around Kakashi’s neck in welcome.

Kakashi enjoyed the embrace for a moment, inhaling deeply of Iruka’s scent, before he took a step back and away from his lover. “Iruka, there are ten futons stacked together, and this -” He kicked at some of the fluff littering the floor. “- is what remains of an eleventh, I’d wager.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled his mask down. “You can’t keep doing this! Never mind what it might say about your mental state; what about your wallet?”

Iruka sighed. “I know, I know! It’s just. . .”

“Iruka, you are not a princess that can feel a pea in her sleep, even through a dozen mattresses. We need to figure out what’s causing all of this, and we have to start at the bottom,” Kakashi concluded, with a gesture at the pile of futons.

“You’re right, this has to stop,” Iruka replied, looking determined. He made a series of hand signs, and Kakashi realized a moment too late what he was about to do.

“No, Iruka, WAIT!

The final hand sign was completed and the barrier fell away, causing the futons to wobble, waver, and then topple, cascading almost in slow motion over the two men in the room. Iruka’s shout of dismay was cut off as he was covered with the heavy material, and Kakashi lost sight of him as he was similarly engulfed. When he managed to fight his way out of the pile he laughed at the state the room was in, using a little known shrinking jutsu to make moving the futons more manageable.

“Sorry,” Iruka commented when he was again visible. “Guess I really didn’t think that through.” His sheepish smile faded away as he grew serious. “But I think I figured out what was bothering me.” He reached behind his back to where Kakashi knew the scar from Mizuki’s giant shuriken was. “Ever since Naruto left with Jiraiya I’ve been -”

“I know,” Kakashi interrupted with a shrug. “It makes sense that you’d be feeling a little lost, and if that was going to manifest as physical pain, well. . .”

“Where I bear the mark of protecting Naruto would be where it would hurt,” Iruka finished, sighing with enough force to flutter the wisps of hair that framed his face. He glanced around at the disaster that was his bedroom. “At least they’re a manageable size to carry to the orphanage as a donation,” he said. “You can reverse the jutsu after we get all of them there,” Iruka concluded as he stood and started collecting the mini futons.

“Move in with me.”

Iruka froze, and the futons fell from his hand. “Wha. . . what?”

Kakashi felt his ears start to burn with how hard he was blushing but he plowed on. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and knowing that you’ve been feeling this way because Naruto left, well, it makes more sense now than ever before.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know my apartment isn’t much bigger than this one, but we’d only have to stay there until I can get the old Hatake mansion in shape, and -”

Iruka dove across the room and silenced Kakashi with a kiss. When they broke apart he grinned and nodded. “Yes, yes, yes!” he exclaimed, kissing the jounin again.

“Really?”

“Of course! Do you think I’m going to pass up the opportunity to sleep on that heavenly mattress of yours for the rest of my life?”

Kakashi laughed and pulled Iruka close, wrapping his arms around him. “Forget what I said before; you really are a princess.”

“Maybe,” Iruka replied, pressing their foreheads together. “But I’m your princess.”

“All mine.”


End file.
